I got the privilege to take photos of this wonderful, cheerful, yet sassy little girl, Kaliyah. Her mother, Candace Hobbs, invited me back again to capture her 3rd birthday! I've known Candace for awhile now, stemming back to high school and she's always been such a sweet and amazing woman and friend to me. I remember I got a call while I was at school in the cafe and I was packing up about to go to my next class and I see her name pop up, so I answered. It was such a delight to hear her ask me if I was available to come take her birthday photos again, so when she asked me to come back and do it again I couldn't say no. The first time I took Kaliyah's birthday photos was at her 2nd birthday party. During the time, she didn't seem to like me as much. She was super camera shy and would always look away or run away whenever I pointed the camera, but come this time around, her personality quick change and she's blossomed into a loving and charismatic little girl. Candace was telling me her reaction when she saw her pretty pink limo come pick her up and she immediately got in the car. I started to laugh because I could visualize it now. She is so goofy and silly that it's enjoyable to watch her play around with things and be her little self.
First, it was crazy to hear such great things happening for Candace and her daughter. I was glad that she could share that with me! To continue with the happiness, we arrived at her birthday party at Pinky's .. and it was the cutest place ever! Let me just say, it's black owned, which was a bonus because you should always provide services and support your local black businesses! The place was all decorated in pink and purple and it was a small children's salon for kids. It had a eating room in the back and little runaway in the front play are. I'd never seen anything like this! The coolest part about it was the fact that the workers were so kind and patience with her and only wanted to see her smile and make her happy. She had gotten a manicure, a pedicure, a chocolate face mask (which she tried to lick off by the way haha), some homemade hand scrubs to take home and even goody bags with treats inside. It was so adorable to see her be pampered and treated like the princess she is! I'm so proud of Candace and her continuous efforts to provide a safe haven for Kaliyah. She's a wonderful and loving mom and I can't wait to see Kaliyah all grow up! Happy birthday Kaliyah, you deserve nothing but the best!
